November 2015 Babies

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No prenatal vitamins?

Getmeottahere wrote:

Is there anyone not taking prenatal vitamins? I really hate taking them and was wondering if anyone had opted out. Not that I'm going to stop, but I'm curious if there's anyone who's not and their doc said it's okay at this point.

No way. They are a must. Why do you hate taking them? I know mine made me nauseous so I don't take mine until after I eat breakfast or lunch.

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blood22

I take kids complete gummy vitamins they are so much yummier and my Ob said they are just as good as the prenatal vitamins just make sure they are the "complete"!!

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Dani_D83

They're important for you. The baby is going to take everything it needs regardless if you take vitamins, but that means there isn't much left for you. I knew a girl who didn't take her vitamins or eat well and after her pregnancy she looked drained and horrible. Teeth and hair were terrible at the point of almost looking like it was all gonna fall out. I take my vitamins before bed and haven't been having any issues so far, but I agree with other post try gummy vitamins.

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pamelamalo

I agree with the gummy vitamins. Way easier to take, and don't make me nauseous. The only time I've thrown up this whole pregnancy is when I took prenatal capsules

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mrsbuttercup15

I don't want to cause drama but I'll give you my opinion (hopefully without getting attacked). I don't believe that prenatal multivitamins are necessary. Actually, I think they do more harm than good. Hear me out. If you eat a balanced diet and up your intake of protein/calcium/folate - you don't need to take them. The only reason every doctor and their mother recommend prenatals (specifically in North America) is because the general public has terrible dietary habits. If all you eat is processed food and don't touch fruits or vegetables, then you probably might benefit from the prenatals, however, you'd benefit from a better diet more than from synthetic vitamins. Except what blows my mind is that doctors don't recommend you change your diet, mostly because they know how hard a junk food diet is to break. So they cover their a** and prescribe prenatals.

I'm not going to tell you all the downfalls of synthetic vitamins (even the 'natural' prenatals are mostly synthetic) but you can do the research yourself.

After weighing the pros and cons, I've decided to forgo any prenatal vitamins and only take folate (note: not folic acid, there is a huge difference...). I went over my diet with my Midwife and after running blood tests she is more than satisfied with my approach.

Do what's right for you. Don't fall into the crowd mentality.

That's my two cents.

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cdm9812

My ob told me at my first appt at 10 weeks that I could stop taking the vitamins for a while if I wanted to because they are most critical for development in the very first few weeks anyway. I kept taking them but I doubt it's necessary.

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mrskurt

Mine put me in gut wrenching pain however it's just for a few more months so I see it as just a few months and then I'll move on to the challenges of having a newborn and a three year old. I know there is no way I'm getting enough of what I need even though I eat healthy.

I haven't taken them since the first 8 weeks. I can't swallow them - can't even chew the gummies, even now at 19 weeks. My doc said not to worry about it. The folic acid is especially important when the spinal cord is forming - that happens before most people even know they're pregnant. As long as you're eating healthy, nutritious foods my doctor said it should be just fine.

I agree with you to a point, mostly based on how crappy I felt in my last pregnancy when taking Nature Made prenatals. I started to do my research after my doctor said I needed more folic acid and found out that is not true... folic acid doesn't do anything except maybe hurt your stomach. Your body can't process it. You need folate, which no one seems to talk about! And almost none of the prenatals have. Then i started to dig deeper on prenatals and found literally only one brand that I think makes a difference... Vitamin Code Raw prenatals. I had horrible morning sickness and couldn't eat anything my first trimester but I took these before bed and they didn't make me sick. I could tell a major difference in how my hair and face looked and how I felt. I didn't feel entirely drained. I admit I wasn't eating the greatest, not horrible but I ended up losing a fair amount of weight, and as I'm starting to feel better I am definitely changing my diet but I won't stop taking my prenatals. So I think the "crowd mentality" would tell you to pick the more synthetic, folic acid prenatals, which probably won't do much for you, but if you actually take a whole food prenatal with folate that is going to be best for you. I honestly can't see how children's vitamins or gummies can do that much for you.

I agree with you 100% . This is my 5th child and I have all but stopped with the prenatal pills. Even switched to gummies and whenever I take them it is non stop nausea. I've tried taking them at different times and even at half dose. It's never been that way before but by the time this pregnancy happened my lifestyle and diet are completely different . 90% of what I eat is natural and healthy . Too much of a certain vitamins are not good for you and it's all about balance . I'll take one in days I haven't eaten as well as I should but that's only once a week or so but for the most part the vitamins tip the scale to too much of something.

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Babybump1232015

I don't understand problem taking them? I take mine every night before I go to bed after I brush my teeth!

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Themiraclewife18

I don't take mine regularly and haven't for a while. I am a FTM. I started out with the pill version which required me to take to but I developed HG early on and couldn't keep ANYTHING not even water down...so I stopped then- hubby got me the gummies and I started taking those around week 7 maybe and I was nauseous after taking them and even threw up a couple times after taking them so I was like nope! Now that I have gotten A LOT better, I'm 18+ weeks and have been eating very well balanced nutritious meals my Dr. said its ok because I am healthy and so is my baby. I am working the vitamins back in though, just for the heck of it. I chew the gummy at night right as I am going to sleep.

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texmamabear

I'm only able to take them every so often. I'm still dealing with HG and not getting the proper nutrition, so I make sure to take them as often as I possibly can. My OB agreed that they're essential, especially since I'm not able to eat very often.

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Getmeottahere

That you to those who answered my original question. I never took vitamins before being pregnant because I don't think they're necessary if you are eating a well balanced diet. Our bodies were made to thrive on healthy food from the earth, and man made vitamins are a very new thing that our bodies don't digest as well as the vitamins that come from eating healthy food. There's so much vitamin hype these days especially during pregnancy that I've been paranoid not to take them. I will discuss with my docker and see what her opinion is, but I'm glad I'm not the only one who has a distaste for vitamins.

- Finally someone on here that agrees with me about synthetic vitamins!!! I agree with you completely! I am pregnant with baby #4 and I have never taken one with any pregnancy! I also believe it's just a way for Doctors to save their a**.....which is fine, but like you said - they should encourage diet change. We eat raw...unpasteurized...whole foods in our house (although I know that is not the norm in North America) so I get my vitamins naturally. I think it's a huge reason why my children have never had a flu and rarely the common cold.

You won't get any attacks from me! Glad to find someone who thinks like me! lol

I take them occasionally, but if I know I'm going to be sick, then I skip them nstead of throwing them up. I'm 17 weeks, and took prenatals religiously while TTC and until week 15, even through the sickness, but I eat a pretty healthy, balanced diet, so I'm not too worried when I miss them. I think I may start taking Flintstone kids vitamins, because the prenatals are just so hard on my system. I've tried different types, including gummies, and they all make me sick. Doesn't matter when I take them either.

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frostylulu

I hated taking my prenatal as well but I ended up switching to a different one and can now tolerate it.

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